Valve lock



June 16, 192.5.

. R. E, BURNING VALVE LOCK File@ Aug.

RUBERTEDURMNQ.

illLn Patented .lune i6, 1925.

UNITED STATES 1,541,801 PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT n. BURNING, er BELLEVUE, riiNNsYLViiNIe.N

VALVE LOCK.

Application ined August a, 1924. serial No. 729,835,

To all 107mm t may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT E. BURNING, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Bellevue, in the county oi' Allegheny and State oil Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and uset'ul Improvements in Valve Locks, ofwliich the .following is a specification.

The present invention relates to a means for locking the gasoline pipe line which ordinarily leads from the gasoline storage reservoir vor tank to the carburetor on automobiles, and has for its object the provision of a means which may be locked with a Yale type of lock. As is well known in trade, the said type of lock last named possesses` a valuable feature in connection with its usefor locking the gasoline supply of an automobile, on account ot the diticulty of obtaining a duplicate key that will unlock the Yale lock, and as a consequence the said supply of gasoline is prevented from reaching the carburetor of the engine, as is at once appreciated.

practical application of the principles of my invention.

Aswill be seen as the description proceeds herein, I have provided a very simple arrangement ot parts which accomplish the end sought directly, and eiicientlymvith no complicated parts` liable to get out oi' order, and as a corrollary, it is believed such a locking means will appeal to the average owner Otan automobile on account of its simplicity in parts as well as its operation.

In the accompanying 'drawings forming `part oi' the present specilication, I have illustrated a complete example of the invention in hand, constructed according to the best mode I have so far devised for the In the drawings Figure 1 is a longitudinal section taken centrally thereof, o1: my invention applied to a-pipe line.

line line `ot piping 2 leading from the gaso-Y line reservoir (not shown) of an automobile, and said valve whichr is usually ot the globe type is connected to the, pipe 3 which in turn leads to the carburetor of the engine (not shown #in the drawings), It is apparent from the figures shown that if the valvefl cannot be operated `by unauthorized persons, as will be explained, thatthe supply oi" gasoline cannot reach the engine, and as a resultfthe automobile cannot be operated, and theft is impossible.

The valve 1 has a stem 4, which is formed cylindrical in shape, and saine has a passage 5 therethrough, for the" purpose of admitting a locking slug or key 6121s shown in Figure 1. The par-t 4 has a prong 7 which engages the stops 8 and 9 in order to limit the travel of the-valve stem 4. The valve 1 is completelyrenclosed by the casing 11, which is suitably mounted onuthe beams, (or other parts) 12, 13, etc.,`of,the automobile. The casinghas an upstanding U-shaped part 14, which is provided with a transverse perforation 15, and the key 6 lhas a cutaway portion 16 formed complementary to the said perforation 15, both being adapted to receive the lock ring 10 of the lock 17, which last is preferably of the Yale type of lock. The casing 11 has mounted therein the tubular part 18, which may be a driven fit into the neck 19 of the casing 11, or threads may be provided at 20, in order to secure the tube 18 in position. 'Ihe said tube 18 has a slot 21 which is approximately onequarter the length of its circumference, as is seen in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, the purpose of said slot it is seen is to accommodate the transverse bolt'or pin 22.

The said pin 22 passes through theV tubular part 18, and also through the valve stem drum 4, and forms a means of supporting said Valve stem drum inthe tube 18, and the casing neck 19. The end 23 of the pin 22, is extended and preferably threaded, so that a handle similar to handle 24 suitably modiiied witha female thread may be attached to said pin, and thus provide a means of rotating the valve stein 4, if desired. When such use is not required, the end 28 is sheared even with the exterior of the tube 18.

`Ihe pin 7 is mounted in the drum 4, and the stops Sand 9 are mounted in the inner side of the casing 11, as is at once understood from the drawings. The pipes 2 and 3 are suitably connected at 25, 26 respectively by couplings to the valve 1 as shown, said couplings being Completely within the casing 11, and cannot be reached surreptiously in any way, as the said casing is provided with a bottom plate 27. The bottom plate is fastened by the screws 28, 23 to the inwardly disposed lugs 29, 29 integrally formed with the casing 11. The casing 11 is preferably attached to channels 12, 13 which are a part of the automobile by means of the riveted lugs 30, 30, etc. It is seen from Figure 2, that the bottom plate 27 cannot be removed, on account of being superimposed on the beams or floor of the automobile, and the casing held down by the riveted lugs 30. The key or slug 6 has a chain 31 attached at 32 to same, the other end of said chain being preferably attached to the screw-ring l33, to prevent said key being` lost when the automobile is in use, and it will be noted that the perforation 34 is made in the casing 11, in order to place said key in the chamber of said casing when desired.

The preferred way of moving the valve stem drum 4 is by means of the handle 24, which is provided with a stem 35, the inner end 36 of which engages slidably a recess formed for it in the drum 4, as illustrated in detail in Figure 4 of the drawings. On the said handle stem is the collar 37 which is preferably formed integral therewith, and against which the coil spring 33 bears as shown. rIhe spring 38 also bears against the inner wall of the casing neck 19 as shown. It is evident that the handle can reciprocate in the slot 39 when the handle 24 is manually operated to overcome the spring 33, and as a result the prongs 40, 49 can be disengaged from their recesses 41,41 formed in the outer wall of the casing 19, for a purpose to be described. The casing neck it will be noted has a recess or slot 42, so that the handle stem 35, can travel therein, and operate the valve stem drum 4. `When the key 6 is removed from the valve stem, as seen in Figure 3, the handle 24, can be disengaged from the notches 41, and the valve 'stem rotated from point 43 to 44, or vice versa; thus opening or closing the valve 1 as may be desired. rIhe said notches 'or recesses 41, 41 provide a means 'of holding the valve open or shut without .ianually holding the handle 24.

The operation of the device in hand is as follows. As seen from the Figure 1 of the drawings the valve 1 is in locked position with the key or slug 6 passing through the upstanding part 14, the casing neck 19, the tube 18 and the valve stem drum 4; the ring of the Yale lock 17 being in position and preventing the removal of the slug 6 from said valve stem. When it is desired to use the automobile, the Yale lock is removed, the key 6 taken out and placed in the chamber of the casing 11. The handle 24 is then disengaged from the notches at 44, and rotated to the position shown in Figure 3, and in engagement with notches at 43. Gasoline can then pass through the valve 1 to the pipe 3, and to the carburetor of the engine, as before explained. TWhen the trip is concluded the handle 24 is swung back to point 44, the slug 6 replaced through the valve stem as in Figure 1, the Yale lock replace-d in position to lock same, and the automobile is safe against unauthorized operation.

It is noted .in passing that the valve may be made a four-way valve with additional pipes 45, 46 entering the easing and leading to other parts of the engine, as has been found desirable in connection with the use of a vacuum tank and other devices in some instances, but as this is a matter which pertains to the valve per se rather than the locking device in hand, same will not be more fully described in this place.

From the above it is evident that I have provided a very useful device, which is e1;- ceedingly simple in the parts, and use, and yet is certain to accomplish the much desired result of preventing theft of automobiles, as it is a. commonly known fact that automobile theft is accomplished at the present time, by duplication of the keys necessary to unlock the looks in current use on automobiles.

1. In a valve lock, a valve, an enclosing casing having an upwardly disposed neck, and a U-shaped member formed thereon provided with transverse perforation's, a. valve stem drum rotatably mounted inz the casing neck, a locking key having a recess forme-d complementary to the U-shaped member perforations, and loc-king means passing through said; key and U-shaped member for holding the key in locked position.

2. In a valve lock, a. valve, an enclosing casing having an upwardly disposed neck, a. tubular member mounted in the latter, a valve stem drum revolubly mounted in the tubular member, a U-shaped member having transverse perforations formed on the casing, alocking key passing through the casing neck, the tubular member, and the valve stem drum, and means for securing the said locking key in locked position.

3. In a valve lock, a. valve, a casingenclosing the valve and pipe connections leading to and from said valve, an upwardly disposed tubular 'neck formeel on said casing provided with a horizontal passage, a. peripheral slot, and a number of notched recesses in its side wall, a. U-shaped member having transverse perforations therethrough formed on the casing, a valve stem drum rotatably mounted in the tubular neck and having a horizontal passage through it adapted to register with the horizontal paskey in position.

4. In a valve locking device, operating means comprising a tubular casing neck having a horizontal slot in its periphery, and a plurality of not-ched recesses on its outer Wall, a tubular member mountedin the casing neck having a peripheral slot formed complementary to the slot of the casing neck, a valve stem drum rotatably mounted in the tubular member and having a radial depression `formed therein, an operating handle having a pair of prongs adapted to engage aforesaid notched recesses, a collar on the handle, and a resilient spring engaging the collar, and the inner Wall or the casing neck for resiliently holding the handle in reciprocating position in the radial depression of the valve stem drum.

5. In a valve lock, a valve, an enclosing casing covering said valve and pipe connections thereto, an upwardly disposed casing neck on the casing, a tubular member mounted in the casing'neck having a peripheral slot, a valve stem drum revolubly mounted in the tubular member and having a pin passage therethrough, a transverse pinv passing through the drum and in engagement with the `peripheral slot of the tubular member, a locking key passing through the casing neck the tubular member and the valve stem drum, and means for locking said key in position.

6. In a valve lock, a valve, an enclosing closing having a neck formed thereon, a valve stem drum revolubly mounted in the casing neck a U-shaped member on the casing, a locking key having a recess formed therein, passing through the U-shaped member, the casing neck and the valve stem drum, and means for locking said key in position.

7. In a valve lock, a valve, an enclosing casing, having a casing neck formed thereon, an upper horizontal peripheral slot in the casing neck, a U-shaped member on the casing, a valve stem drum mounted in the casing neck, a transverse `pin carried in the valve stem drum, slidably engaging the casing neck horizontal slot, a reciprocating locking key, passing through the U- shaped member, the casing neck, and the valve stem drum, and means for locking the said locking key in position.

8. In a valve lock, a valve, an enclosing casing covering said valve and pipe connections thereto, a casing neck on the casing, an upper horizontal peripheral slot in the casing neck, a valve stem drum revolubly mounted in the casing neck, aptransverse pin forming a turning means, mounted in the valve stem drum, and adapted to operate in the horizontal casing neck slot, a looking key engaging the casing neck and the valve stem drum, and means for locking the key in position.

In testimony whereof I atlix my signature.

ROBERT E. DURN IN G. Witnesses:

WILLIAM A. HIRTLE ,It J. BROWN. 

